Team
60First-time founders, high craft, no distribution instinct we could underwrite.
This part of the screen is weighted at 30 percent.
Pollen
A consumer companion that wanted to be a daily habit and a platform.
LisbonConsumerFounded 20247 people
Market
55Crowded, expensive to acquire, and outside the fund’s mandate.
This part of the screen is weighted at 25 percent.
Traction
40€300k, paid monthly, retention that falls off a cliff in week five.
This part of the screen is weighted at 25 percent.
Moat
30A prompt and a brand. Not a moat.
This part of the screen is weighted at 20 percent.
Pass
Screened 19 Aug 2026Pre-written. The replay is simulated.
Summary
Passed in August. Pollen is a well-made consumer companion with week-five retention that will not support the acquisition cost they are already paying. It is not a Halden investment. The note exists so we do not re-screen it under a new name.
Why now
There was no reason to do it now. There is no reason to do it later unless the company becomes a tool a business renews.
Product
A daily chat with memory and a pleasant voice. Users like it for a month. The product does not accumulate an asset we can underwrite.
Business
Consumer subscription. €300k ARR. Payback unknown because they stopped reporting channel CAC when it moved the wrong way.
Recommendation
Pass. No meeting. Reply with the mandate and the offer to look again if they sell to a company.